Trestle for scaffolding and the like



A ril 29, 1958 w. E. GERKE 2,832,647

TRESTLE FOR SCAFFOLDING AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 29, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 29, 1958 w. E. GERKE TRESTLE FOR SCAFFOLDING AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 29, 1953 are heavy and combersome.

United States Patent 9 TRESTLE FOR SCAFFOLDING AND THE LIKE Willy Ernst Geri-re, Kassel-Brasselberg, Germany Application December 29, 1953, Serial No. 400,981 Claims priority, application Germany January 23, 1953 1 Claim. c1.- 304- The present invention relates to a trestle for scalfolding and similar purposes.

The conventional trestles made of wood with four legs In general, they can only be handled by two men. Their transportation to the building site requires considerable eifort. Particular difficulties are encountered in their use at the building site, for instance when they have to be transported over ladders to the place of use. Another difliculty is the mounting of such trestles in an uneven or yielding ground; it often requires special devices in order to make the four legs even. Similar difliculties are encountered with the known trestles made of iron having four or three legs. Such trestles are, moreover, quite expensive.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above mentioned inconveniences and to provide a 9 two legged trestle which is easy to transport and to mount, and inexpensive to manufacture.

According to the present invention, a trestle is provided having two legs which support an elongate board. The two legs are at an obtuse angle with respect to the board, or similar structural element, when viewed along the longitudinal axis of the same, and extend slanting outwardly in downward direction. At the top ends the legs are connected by a cross-member which serves as a support for the board or the like. Above the crossmember, a second connecting member is provided and one end of the board is accommodated between support and abutment. Two such trestles are placed, one at each end of the board, supporting the same horizontally. It is also possible to support only one end of the board by a trestle, at the other end on the top of a wall or the like. When the board is loaded, it becomes more securely anchored between the support and the abutment and a spreading action in outward direction occurs on the legs of the trestle. As a result thereof, a scaffolding erected by means of the above described trestles has a high stability.

It is possible to store the trestles by nesting them in a comparatively large number, so that they will require a small space when temporarily out of use or when shipped.

Since the trestles according to the invention have only two legs, the mounting of a scafiold on uneven ground presents no practical difiiculty. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the legs are provided with telescopable end portions, similar to those of portable tripods for cameras. In this case, the supporting points of the two legs can be at a different level, without impairing the stability.

A further advantage of such telescopable legs consists in the adaptability of the trestle to different requirements of height.

Trestles according to the invention are light-weight and easy to handle, so that they can be readily carried by a single man.

Further advantages are low expense and high durability.

Patented Apr. 29, 1958 In the accompanying drawings, a number of embodiments of the invention are shown, but it should be understood that these are given by way of illustration and not of limitation and that many changes in the details may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings,

Fig. l is a side view and Fig. 2 is a front view of one embodiment of the trestle according to the invention;

Figs. 3 and 3a show a different embodiment, likewise in sideand front-view;

Figs. 4 and 5 show two further embodiments in side view;

Fig. 6 illustrates the mounting of a board in two trestles;

Fig. 7 shows a board supported on a wall and a trestle, for instance for providing a working scaffold;

Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate a scaffold in which boards are supported by four trestles, in side view and plan view seen from above;

Fig. 10 is a view of a scaffolding for supporting a sheathing in a concrete construction, and I Fig. 11 illustrates the use of the trestles in blocking a road.

Similar reference numerals designate similar parts in the different views.

With reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 6, the trestle is shown to comprise two legs 1 made of metal tubing and having an extension or arm 3 at the upper end of each leg at such an angle with respect thereto that in operation the arms are horizontal and the legs at a slant to the outside. 2 is a cross-member connecting the two legs of a trestle and provided for supporting a structural element. The arms 3 may be welded to the upper ends of arms 1 or they may be integral therewith. The free ends of arms 3 are connected by a cross-member 4 lying at a higher level than cross-member 2 so that a board 5 or the like can he slipped into the space between the two cross-members. Member 2 serves as a support and member 4 as an abutment for the board, limiting the upward movement thereof.

In order to obtain a stable scalfold, the board 5 is placed on two trestles, as shown in Fig. 6. In mounting, the board is first inserted, while at an angle, into the left-hand trestle between members 2 and 4. The board is then lifted and slipped into the second trestle, with its legs in almost vertical position, as shown in broken lines at the right-hand side of Fig. 6. Finally, the second trestle is pushed outwardly into the position shown in full lines in Fig. 6. The board is then in fixed position between the two trestles, and the legs are at a slant with respect to the longitudinal direction of the board. Any pressure exerted upon the board will act as a securing force at the board ends and as a spreading force .for the trestles, which increases the stability of the scaffold.

As a reinforcement of the structure, cross-members 6 and 7 are provided which connect the legs. Further reinforcing struts 8 connect the legs 1 with the arms 3 of each trestle.

As supporting cross members, I may use for instance U-shaped iron. Fig. 2 shows a particular configuration of the cross-member 2 with stepped portions 10, 11 and 12, forming three supporting planes. The uppermost plane 10 is for a flat board 5; the central portion 11 for a beam 13 (see Fig. 7), and the bottom support 12 for an up-ended board, as shown in Fig. 8.

In Figs. 3 and 3a, a similar trestle is shown, having two legs 1a connected by simple cross bars 2a.

In order to make the length of legs 1 and thereby the height of the trestle adaptable, the legs canbe provided with telescoping end portions 14 (Figs. 4 and 10). These end portions can be fixed in any desired position by eccentric members 15 or by bolts to be entered in one of a series of holes 20. It is possible to provide both devices for securing the extensions of the legs, one serving for coarse adjustment (bolts), the other for fine adjustment (eccenters).

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 5, arms 3a are shown which are illustrated as pointing in opposite direction from the ones of arms 3 as arranged in the other embodiments according to the present invention. The ends of arms 3a are connected to legs 1 by vertical struts 9. The supporting cross-member 2 lies at the upper end of struts 9, and the abutment 4 for the board lies at the upper end of legs 1. The board will be inserted in fixed position between support 2 and abutment 4-.

When the trestles are used for blocking a street, as illustrated in Fig. 11, simple light-weight trestles I carry a slat 16, the ends of which are secured between support and abutment, as described above. On one of the trestles, a hook 17 is provided, which can be used for suspending a lamp 19. It is some-times useful to provide a further supporting member 18 for placing up-ended slats thereon, extending in transverse direction from slats 16, in which case places can be fenced off by means of the trestles according to the invention. Instead of slats, boards, pipes or the like can be placed in those members 18, in order to provide some further road-blocking equipment.

Many modifications in the parts of the trestles may be made within the scope of the present invention. For instance, it is possible to use profiled iron instead of the tubes, shown as forming the legs in the embodiment illustrated in the drawings. Other building materials can be likewise used instead of the metal mentioned by way of example.

What I claim is:

In a trestle for scaffolding and the like, a pair of leg members extending downwardly and outwardly from each other, substantially horizontally extending members integral with said leg members each extending inwardly at an obtuse angle from each of said leg member, a transverse bar connecting said extending members, said extending members being at the same height; a saddle member connecting said leg member, said. saddle member being formed with two stepped portions, 3. first wide upper por tion and second narrow longitudinal portion extending downwardly from said first portion and having a closed bottom, both of said portions forming board supports, whereby a beam may be supported by said upper portion, and an tip-ended board in said second portion; said saddle member being arranged on a level below said transverse bar, whereby a wedging action is obtained between said saddle member and said transverse member, upon insertion of a beam or up-ended board.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 462,581 Peck Nov. 3, 1891 478,065 Miller June 28, 1892 616,762 Bell Dec. 27, 1898 1,147,668 Anderson July 20, 1915 1,685,283 Gibson Sept. 25, 1928 1,749,706 Kingston Mar. 4, 1930 1,946,610 Bucholz Feb. 13, 1934 1,961,760 Hamren June 5, 1934 2,198,956 Thielepape Apr. 30, 1940 2,427,540 Wierowski Sept. 16, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS 668,995 Great Britain Mar. 19, 1952 688,070 Great Britain Feb. 25, 1953 

